Daily Scripture Threshing for Sunday, July 9, 2023
Today’s Text: Matthew 16:20-28
Key Verses: Matthew 16:24 (KJV) — “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
On a federal assignment, I found myself in Wausau, a city straddling the Wisconsin River in central Wisconsin, and I was attracted into an old fashioned bookstore. A book I found provoked my interest. It is titled, Following Jesus Made Easy. I surfed the content quickly and had to drop it back on shelf. Following Jesus is an uneasy lifelong journey; but perhaps we do not all have clear picture of the characteristics of a true disciple. Our Lord watched His disciples grow in their love and admiration for Him. He had sent them out in twos and had seen the excitement that greeted their return. Yet, He knows they needed one more discipleship drill to make sure their growth was whole, and wanting nothing, and wanting in nothing.
Jesus must have had our very sagging generation in mind. He must have seen how we would rather prefer books and messages of/on easiness. He must have seen a generation in which heart-searching truths of God’s kingdom would be neglected for mundane pleasure — an age in which people would be deceived into believing that faith in Christ simply means receiving blessings from Him. To such generations He teaches this truth: that following Him is the hallmark of a genuine disciple. The spirit of the text is clear: a disciple gives himself up to Christ without the faintest sense of loss.
By now some of us are already thinking about poverty, adversity, infirmity and liabilities. But no. We must know that all these are already part of the burdens of life even if we were not Christians at all. Job 5:7 explains how afflictions take on us and are never taken by us. All humanity is so commonly naturally exposed to various troubles, as if we were born to no other end. Therefore, with these or without them, Jesus said the cross must be taken by us; and we must follow Him.
Quote for the Day: “Morality plus religion plus theology minus Christ equals ignorance, lostness and darkness. Only those who find Jesus find Light.” (Simon Olatunji)
Prayer: Dear Lord, with you there is no darkness. Please illuminate our darkness and cause your light of hope to shine brightly through us to this darkened world —in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
With all my love and prayers,
Rev Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.
Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)
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[Daily Scripture Threshing is a devotional guide of The House of Prayer Evangel Church USA distributed for free use by individuals, small groups, families, and Christian churches]
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